Well, I can’t say I have a ton of killer recipes (yet), but as I try things, I’ve been freezing small portions and reheating to see what works. Here is the short list so far:

Breakfast:

MomvsChaos Mostly Paleo Banana Muffins

(*slightly modified from Paleo Banana Bread on Robb Wolf’s site)

Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 really ripe bananas (mashed well)
• 2 tbs grade B maple syrup
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. I’m always cutting corners, so I don”t usually bother with mixing wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls.  I start with the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, eggs, grade B maple syrup, and vanilla) and mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Fill greased muffin tins or baking cups 3/4 full for 23-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

*the original recipe calls for nuts (pecans) and “local honey.” My kids are still averse to lumps of anything in their muffins, and I don’t have local honey.  Furthermore, I don’t really mind using grade B maple syrup because I believe it’s natural (comes from tree’s, right?), and it has lots of minerals.

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

*quick note: I rarely eat the muffins above. They are totally delicious, but I think it’s best to have them occasionally. My kids have them twice a week (they’re still struggling with the transition), and I have them once a week.

Egg Cupcakes (link is to the Everyday Paleo Blog, but I got my recipe from the Everyday Paleo Cookbook). If these are frozen before they are completely cooled, or once frozen, if they defrost slightly and are refrozen, they will come out soggy and gross. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way after making them for a vacation, freezing, placing in cooler, and attempting to freeze and reheat the first morning of our trip. They had barely defrosted at all in the cooler, but it was just long enough to ruin them. After all of that work too! So, if you go to the trouble of making these, be sure to store them correctly OAMC Paleo Style.

Lunch/Dinner:

Everyday Meatloaf (link is to the Everyday Paleo Blog, but I got my recipe from the Everyday Paleo Cookbook). I made this recipe using 12 jumbo muffin tins and cooked them for about 45 minutes. It freezes (and reheats) wonderfully as a loaf or muffins, however.

Garden Fresh Meatballs (link is to the Everyday Paleo Blog, but I got my recipe from the Everyday Paleo Cookbook). I made this into meatloaf because I’m not patient enough to make meatballs, lol.

MomvsChaos Ground Beef Curry Recipe (I made a quadruple batch, but multiply as needed)
-1 lb ground beef
- 1 package frozen stir-fry vegetables (I find the broccoli stir-fry is usually the one I can count on to be legume-free)
- 1 package frozen spinach
- scoop of yellow curry paste whisked with coconut cream and a bit of water to taste.

Brown the ground beef.
*If using grass-fed beef:
remove the meat from the pan but reserve the fat to stir-fry the veggies.
*If using grain-fed beef, drain the fat and rinse the meat in a colander. Then add a tablespoon or two of coconut oil to your pan.

Now you should have a pan with beef fat or coconut oil. Add the frozen stir-fry veggies and spinach and sauté until cooked. While the veggies cook, whisk together curry paste, coconut cream, and water. Make as much sauce as you like. I usually end up making 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup per pound of meat. Add sauce to vegetables, then return meat to pan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors blend. Allow to cool, then spoon into freezer safe containers and freeze. I usually take this out of the freezer a full twenty-four hours before I want to eat it, then microwave to warm. Super simple!

As a side note, I found the BEST disposable muffin liners for paleo baking/cooking. Before going Paleo, I never used muffin liners. They aren’t exactly eco-friendly, and I know how to grease a muffin tin just fine, thank you! I had no idea how badly paleo muffins would stick to the pan, despite my valiant attempts at greasing every nook and cranny! I started searching on Amazon, and stumbled across these parchment paper muffin liners. I love, love, love them. I used them for the muffin recipes above, as well as the meatloaf muffins. They are amazing and a MUST for Paleo baking. That said, I hate to be so wasteful, so I’m testing out some new silicone muffin liners this weekend- I’ll be sure to let you know how they work!

Have any of you tried OAMC Paleo Style? What recipes work for you? Please share!

It’s been slightly more than ninety days since I started my 120 Day Paleo Challenge. I feel like I have a lot of fails to report, however, my dear sweet hubby reminded me that I should give myself credit since I’ve been on vacation for weeks. Being away from my fridge AND around the influence of other family members and their food makes this sort of thing tough. I knew that. I even said that in my challenge announcement post. That said, I still need to own up to my fails. Here we go:

1. Too much coffee! Why, oh why is this so tough for me? Vacation means less time in bed for me and not so great sleep for the few hours I try to due to strange-bed/location-disease my kids seem to pick-up whenever we are away from home. In order to avoid falling asleep on the job and being a royal bitch, I turn to my warm and cozy friend time and time again. On the bright side, I’ve only been adding unsweetened coconut milk or natural heavy cream to my coffee…no sugar.

2. Sweets- in ninety days, I’ve had fewer than nine treats. That’s not horrible by any standard (especially on vacation), but it’s certainly not paleo. I’ve gone towards gluten free options when possible, but I’m not proud of myself.

3. Kids Food- I’m a total wuss. I fought a lot of good fights with family members to try to avoid having them offer my kids offensive food items. It seems as though people think that I’m robbing them of their childhood by looking out for their health. I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping them away from the pizza, chips, fruit snacks, etc. I did, however, end up allowing organic corn flakes with unsweetened coconut milk while camping, and the dreaded PB&J.

I’m sure there are more fails to report, but I’m going to stop obsessing about it (also it’s been WAY too long since I’ve posted here, and I need to get the ball rolling again). I’m entering my final 30 days now (and they happen to be my final thirty days in my twenties- yikes!), and I’m kicking it into high gear. Wish me luck!